I'm reading a great book right now titled "The 80/20 Individual" by Richard Koch. The 80/20 principal, or "Pareto Principle", says that 80% of results come from 20% of the inputs.

You've probably heard the idea that 20% of people have 80% of the wealth. It's probably more like 95/5 in reality. This is the Pareto Principle. Another example is when 1 employee is responsible for 80% of the profits and the other 4 employees are responsible for only 20%.

In his book, Koch discusses the need to identify your "vital few" that bring you the most successes and results.

How does this apply to you the landscape designer? Consider the following:

1. Who are your vital few customers? What clients are providing 80% of your revenue and profit?

2. Who are your vital few people? What employees are responsible for 80% of your sales or productivity?

3. What are your vital few products or services? What service makes up 80% of your profit?

4. Who are your vital few referral sources? What 1 or 2 referral sources provide you with 80% of all referrals?

Only by identifying your vital few, can you then concentrate your resources (time and money) on these, and at the same time eliminate the rest.

I encourage you to ask yourself the questions above and really analyze your business in order to come up with some real answers.

I also highly recommend "The 80/20 Individual". You can get it from Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385509758?ie=UTF8&tag=landscapeleco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0385509758

All the best,

Chris Heiler, Editor

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